5 fighters who the UFC likely regretted letting go
Ever since it became the world’s biggest MMA promotion back in the mid-2000’s, the UFC has largely been home to the best fighters on the planet. But on occasion, they’ve been willing to let some of them go.
Over the years, we’ve seen the UFC allow numerous top fighters to leave the promotion, and sometimes they’ve made Dana White and company regret their decision.
Sure, there have also been plenty of departing big-name fighters who struggled for traction after leaving, but naturally, it’s far more fascinating when someone manages to succeed after leaving the octagon.
Here are five fighters that the UFC should never have allowed to leave.
#5. Nick Diaz – UFC welterweight (2006)
Nick Diaz is arguably one of the biggest stars in UFC history, with his fights with Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva being among the bigger-drawing events in the promotion’s recent history.
However, unlike most of the promotion’s top stars, Diaz didn’t actually build his reputation inside the octagon for the most part. That’s because, despite making his name there initially in the early 2000’s, the promotion made the unfortunate decision to let him go in 2006.
Quite why this was remains somewhat of a mystery, although it seems highly likely that it was a financial decision. At any rate, the Stockton-based fighter ended up being somewhat of a nomad, fighting in promotions like PRIDE, Elite XC and DREAM before really settling in when he moved to Strikeforce in 2008.
It was in that promotion that he defeated the likes of Frank Shamrock, Scott Smith and Paul Daley, becoming arguably the hottest fighter outside the UFC by 2010.
Nick Diaz defending his Strikeforce title via beautiful armbar https://t.co/5uYqGWCTbR
When Strikeforce was bought out by the UFC in 2011, Diaz was the fighter that everyone was clamoring to see. So it came as no surprise when he was handed a shot at welterweight kingpin Georges St-Pierre, despite having no real high-level wins to speak of.
Since then, he’s remained a major star despite only fighting on a handful of occasions since his return. Would he have ascended to the same level of stardom had he remained with the UFC in 2006? It’s hard to say, but it’s highly likely that Dana White and company regretted letting him go.
#4. Ryan Bader – former UFC light heavyweight (2017)
When Ryan Bader moved to Bellator MMA at the conclusion of his contract with the UFC in early 2017, the reaction from Dana White was a curious one.
According to White, the promotion was more than happy for ‘Darth’ to depart, and outright told him that they wouldn’t be matching Bellator’s offer and that he ought to pursue a move as it was a “good place” for him to be.
Whether they still believe they made the right decision five years later, though, is very much up in the air.
Bader had always been a reliable high-end fighter in the UFC, but despite picking up big wins over the likes of Rampage Jackson, Rashad Evans and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, he’d never quite made it into title contention.
Upon arriving in Bellator, though, ‘Darth’ immediately claimed the promotion’s light heavyweight title by defeating Phil Davis, and then went onto become their first ever double champion when he won the heavyweight title – defeating the legendary Fedor Emelianenko in the process.
years ago on this day, @RyanBader faced Fedor in the culmination of the #Bellator Heavyweight World Grand Prix.2️⃣ years ago on this day, @RyanBader faced Fedor in the culmination of the #Bellator Heavyweight World Grand Prix.
#MMA https://t.co/XNPbmpyC44
Obviously Bader would never have seen that kind of success had he remained in the UFC, but given his form since joining Bellator, would it have been beyond the realm of possibility for him to have become a genuine title threat, particularly in the post-Jon Jones landscape? Probably not.
With that considered, it’s probably fair to guess that there are at least a couple of regrets over letting him leave back in 2017.
#3. Dan Henderson – former UFC middleweight (2009)
In the summer of 2009, it’s probably fair to say that there were few hotter fighters in the UFC than Dan Henderson.
Initially considered somewhat of a bust when he was defeated by both Rampage Jackson and Anderson Silva after arriving from PRIDE, ‘Hendo’ had transformed into a major fan favorite thanks to his rivalry with Michael Bisping on the ninth season of The Ultimate Fighter. When he knocked ‘The Count’ out in brutal fashion, a superstar was essentially born.
11 years ago today, Dan Henderson destroyed Michael Bisping at UFC 100
#UFC
https://t.co/U4aWcFpWoH
Remarkably, though, the win over Bisping was Henderson’s last in the octagon for over two years. Just months later, he departed for Strikeforce, citing a bigger financial offer as well as “less red tape” as his reasoning for the move.
Unsurprisingly, most fans were frustrated by the move, feeling angered that the promotion hadn’t valued him enough to pay him what he was demanding to stay. While he actually fell to defeat in his Strikeforce debut, he quickly bounced back with three wins in a row, winning the promotion’s light heavyweight title and then defeating Fedor Emelianenko.
When the UFC bought out Strikeforce in 2011, it came as no surprise when they immediately pulled ‘Hendo’ back into the fold. He was booked in a pay-per-view headliner in his comeback bout and offered a title shot in his next fight.
Essentially, it felt like Dana White and company knew that they’d dropped the ball by letting him go, and were determined to keep him onside the second time around.
#2. Andrei Arlovski – UFC heavyweight (2008)
Andrei Arlovski is currently the longest-tenured fighter on the UFC’s roster, having made his debut in the octagon all the way back in 2000 during the promotion’s so-called ‘Dark Ages’. However, ‘The Pitbull’ has not always been with the promotion.
The native of Belarus notably had a lengthy hiatus from the octagon between 2008 and 2014. While he wasn’t massively successful during that period, it’s safe to say that Dana White and company were hardly happy about letting him go.
Arlovski famously held the heavyweight title between 2005 and 2006, but after losing it to Tim Sylvia, he found himself at a crossroads of sorts. By 2008, he’d defeated three opponents in a row, but despite being on the verge of another title shot, he decided to jump to the new Affliction MMA promotion instead.
07/19/2008. Affliction’s first show. UFC quickly puts together a counter show on Spike w/ Anderson Silva as headliner. One of the all time memorable nights in MMA history. Pretty amazing a rematch from that night happens tomorrow. twitter.com/espnmma/status…
The reasoning for this was obvious – Affliction were willing to pay him nearly $1m per fight, a figure that the UFC were realistically never going to match despite its wish to keep him.
When he left, then, it was definitely to the chagrin of White and company, and while they were probably relieved to see his career hit a bit of a slump shortly after, it’s likely that they would much rather have retained his services in the first place.
#1. Demetrious Johnson – former UFC flyweight champion (2018)
The departure from the UFC of former flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson remains one of the most shocking in the promotion’s history, as it represented a completely different form of business from Dana White and company.
After losing his title to Henry Cejudo in controversial fashion in the summer of 2018, Johnson was expected to make another run at the gold. However, stunning fans across the world, he was instead sent packing to Singapore’s ONE Championship, with former Bellator welterweight champion Ben Askren coming the other way in a trade deal.
Nobody expected this to happen, largely because ever since being burned by PRIDE in the early 2000’s, the UFC had avoided working with rival promotions like the plague.
However, it felt like a good deal for them at the time. The trade meant that the flyweight division could start a fresh chapter without the fighter who had dominated it since 2012, and they’d also receive a brand new contender at 170lbs.
Things haven’t exactly panned out that way, though. Despite high hopes for his octagon career, Askren ended up largely flaming out, suffering losses to Jorge Masvidal and Demian Maia before retiring in late 2019.
‘Mighty Mouse’, meanwhile, has done excellently for himself in ONE, going 4-1, winning the promotion’s 135lb title, and avenging a loss to Adriano Moraes in brutal fashion just last week. Essentially, he still appears to be one of the best fighters on the planet.
Demetrious Johnson just KNOCKED OUT Adriano Moraes and is once again the ONE Flyweight Champion! 🏆
https://t.co/BEsJOrTPMT
At this point, then, it’s probably fair to suggest that the promotion probably regrets trading him for Askren, and that they definitely got the raw end of the deal in comparison to ONE.